2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Salvation is so simple that even a child can understand it. The Bible teaches that there is a simplicity in Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 11:3) The Lord never intended salvation to be hard.
You must realize that you are a guilty, condemned sinner in need of a Saviour, and that you can't save yourself. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is the only Saviour that can save you. In fact, He has done all that is needed to save you from the penalty of your sins (eternity in Hell) when He shed His blood and died in your place upon the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day. It is now up to you to repent of your sins and trust in His finished work of redemption. Nothing could be simpler.
Here are ten ways the Bible describes the simplicity of salvation in Jesus Christ:
1) Having a childlike trust.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Suffer means allow or permit. Jesus is saying, "Let the children come to Me! Don't forbid them!" It is interesting to note that we are told to compel the adults to come to the Saviour (Luke 14:23), but children have a willingness to turn to Christ. It is simple childlike trust. "I am a sinner and Jesus is the Saviour. I need Him to save me then!" Nothing complicated there! We make it complicated.
A simple childlike trust, childlike faith - that simply accepts what the Bible says because it is God who says it. God said it, that settles it!
Simply trusting. Like the child who jumps off a table into his father's arms because he trusts his father to catch him. No holding back - complete, childlike trust.
2) Believing.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Simply putting your trust, your confidence, your reliance upon what Jesus Christ has done for your salvation. But you must believe in your heart to be saved.
3) Hearing.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Simply hearing the preaching of the word, hearkening to what you read in the Bible, and embracing what it says! Hear the Gospel and live!
4) Tasting.
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.
Simply tasting what the Lord has done for you. This means experiencing it for yourself, experiencing the benefits of the goodness of God. It is the goodness of God that leads a sinner to repentance. (See Romans 2:4)
5) Drinking.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.
John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Revelations 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Simply drinking from the well of salvation (Isaiah 12:2-3), drinking water from the Rock Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4) and letting Him quench that spiritual thirst within you. (See John 7:37-38)
6) Hungering and eating.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Isaiah 55:1-3 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.
7) Looking.
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Numbers 21:8-9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
This serpent on the pole represented Jesus Christ on the cross, bearing our sins and our judgement. (See John 3:14-15) We just need to look to His finished work at Calvary and live. Simply look to Jesus. By the way, that is the secret to the victorious Christian life as well - just keep looking to Jesus! (See Hebrews 12:1)
8) Turning.
Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
That is what Bible repentance is: simply turning from your sin to the Saviour. (See Acts 20:21) This change of mind will result in a change of conduct.
9) Receiving a free gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:
Salvation is as simple as receiving a free gift - you cannot do anything to earn it or to pay it back, simply receive it. Jesus paid the debt you could never pay for your sin. Salvation is simply receiving Him as your Saviour and His free gift of salvation. Grace is unmerited favour that is offered to us because of what Jesus has done! An acrostic for GRACE: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
10) Opening a door.
Revelations 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. His Holy Spirit is pleading for you to come to Him for salvation, to believe in and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It is as simple as opening the door of your heart to Him. (See Ephesians 3:17)
If you have never turned to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and want to understand more about what the Bible says on this important issue, please read God's Simple Plan Of Salvation.
I leave you with this final promise:
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Salvation is so simple that even a child can understand it. The Bible teaches that there is a simplicity in Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 11:3) The Lord never intended salvation to be hard.
You must realize that you are a guilty, condemned sinner in need of a Saviour, and that you can't save yourself. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is the only Saviour that can save you. In fact, He has done all that is needed to save you from the penalty of your sins (eternity in Hell) when He shed His blood and died in your place upon the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day. It is now up to you to repent of your sins and trust in His finished work of redemption. Nothing could be simpler.
Here are ten ways the Bible describes the simplicity of salvation in Jesus Christ:
1) Having a childlike trust.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Suffer means allow or permit. Jesus is saying, "Let the children come to Me! Don't forbid them!" It is interesting to note that we are told to compel the adults to come to the Saviour (Luke 14:23), but children have a willingness to turn to Christ. It is simple childlike trust. "I am a sinner and Jesus is the Saviour. I need Him to save me then!" Nothing complicated there! We make it complicated.
A simple childlike trust, childlike faith - that simply accepts what the Bible says because it is God who says it. God said it, that settles it!
Simply trusting. Like the child who jumps off a table into his father's arms because he trusts his father to catch him. No holding back - complete, childlike trust.
2) Believing.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Simply putting your trust, your confidence, your reliance upon what Jesus Christ has done for your salvation. But you must believe in your heart to be saved.
3) Hearing.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Simply hearing the preaching of the word, hearkening to what you read in the Bible, and embracing what it says! Hear the Gospel and live!
4) Tasting.
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.
Simply tasting what the Lord has done for you. This means experiencing it for yourself, experiencing the benefits of the goodness of God. It is the goodness of God that leads a sinner to repentance. (See Romans 2:4)
5) Drinking.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.
John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Revelations 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Simply drinking from the well of salvation (Isaiah 12:2-3), drinking water from the Rock Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4) and letting Him quench that spiritual thirst within you. (See John 7:37-38)
6) Hungering and eating.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Isaiah 55:1-3 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.
7) Looking.
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Numbers 21:8-9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
This serpent on the pole represented Jesus Christ on the cross, bearing our sins and our judgement. (See John 3:14-15) We just need to look to His finished work at Calvary and live. Simply look to Jesus. By the way, that is the secret to the victorious Christian life as well - just keep looking to Jesus! (See Hebrews 12:1)
8) Turning.
Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
That is what Bible repentance is: simply turning from your sin to the Saviour. (See Acts 20:21) This change of mind will result in a change of conduct.
9) Receiving a free gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:
Salvation is as simple as receiving a free gift - you cannot do anything to earn it or to pay it back, simply receive it. Jesus paid the debt you could never pay for your sin. Salvation is simply receiving Him as your Saviour and His free gift of salvation. Grace is unmerited favour that is offered to us because of what Jesus has done! An acrostic for GRACE: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
10) Opening a door.
Revelations 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. His Holy Spirit is pleading for you to come to Him for salvation, to believe in and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It is as simple as opening the door of your heart to Him. (See Ephesians 3:17)
If you have never turned to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and want to understand more about what the Bible says on this important issue, please read God's Simple Plan Of Salvation.
I leave you with this final promise:
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Written August 3rd/04
Jerry Bouey
Jerry Bouey
1 comment:
Good thoughts Brother!
http://jude3kjb.blogspot.com/
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